BOOKS: ‘The Rebellion of Ronald Reagan’

Late that year, the two leaders signed the first nuclear-arms-reduction treaty. The Cold War was drawing to and end.

Mr. Mann gives us a lively book. What he misses is Mr. Reagan’s early, unflagging commitment to a strategy that would bring the Cold War to a close. Tactics and rhetoric changed to fit changing circumstances. Ultimately, only Mr. Gorbachev could stop the Cold War, but it was Mr. Reagan who brought him to that pass.

• Peter Hannaford was closely associated with Ronald Reagan for a number of years. He is the author of five books about the late president.